Korean Superstitions & Halloween Events 2024
It is the season of superstitions, gruesome tales of death and dismemberment and scary costumes. Superstitions (미신) change from country to country and culture to culture so while stepping on a crack may not break your mother’s back in Korea, whistling while you walk just might! Are you ready for Halloween in Korea? It’s a bit different, but still fun fun fun!
Celebrate Halloween (할로윈) in Korea or just learn about the Korean superstitions you should be aware of, or beware of.
We like to get out and about have fun with the rest of them so I’ve compiled some of the popular Korean superstitions to beware of this holiday season and always AND there are some great events to get to this Halloween in Seoul, if you’re looking for them. Don’t miss out on all of the fun this autumn. Make sure you get out about to the apple festivals, see the fall foliage and eat the sweet autumn treats while you’re at it too!
Here’s how to enjoy Halloween in Korea this year:
- Do They Celebrate Halloween In Korea?
- Is There Trick-or-Treating In Korea?
- Where To Get A Halloween Costume In Korea
- Spooky Halloween Events In Seoul 2024
- 12 Common Korean Superstitions
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Do They Celebrate Halloween In Korea?
Halloween isn’t a widely celebrated holiday in Korea though most Koreans have heard of it or seen how people celebrate abroad. There are more and more Halloween parties each year and more and more cafes and schools are jumping in to celebrate and provide events for adults and kids.
Is There Trick-or-Treating In Korea?
This isn’t really a thing so if you have kids in Korea, don’t start knocking on the doors in your neighborhood or apartment if you haven’t heard they are specifically having an event.
If you want to take your kids trick-or-treating, get into the expat parents in Korea groups on Facebook for details on events. The parent led events attract hundreds and there are a few major expat run events around various cities including Ilsan, Pyeongtaek, and in various areas of Seoul and Busan so look into whichever one is closest to you.
Generally these expat-led events are held in parks, in the afternoon for younger kids, and into the darker hours for older kids. Picture trunk-or-treat but in a park with parents passing out candy at benches and at trees.
Trick-Or-Treating Events In Seoul For Kids
- Twilight Trick-or-Treat: October 26, 2024; 5:30pm ~ 8:00pm
- Held in Yongsan Family Park. Join the event on Facebook to get all of the details and know how to get involved. This event is hosted by expat families, and every family is expected to bring family and participate.
- Expat Dads Trick-or-Treating: A great event is hosted each year by the expat dads group. You need to be in their group to get the details.
Where To Get A Halloween Costume In Korea
Online: Make sure to get it ASAP! Halloween.com ships to Korea and have a ton of awesome choices to choose from. There are also plenty of Squid Game options out there if you want to go for a theme that will sure to be hot this year.
Daiso & Flying Tiger: If you want some basic cat ears, vampire capes, or glasses, Daiso and Flying Tiger usually have a small selection. They aren’t entire costumes, but pieces you can throw together with a black sweatshirt or something to make for a quick last minute costume should you need one.
Joy Party: Looking for something more substantial and not interested in doing a DIY costume this year? Check out Joy Party which not only has costumes but also decor for your Halloween party too.
- These are scattered around Korea so search 조이파티 and find the nearest one to you.
Party N Deco: Located in Seocho-gu, if you’re near this part of town, this is definitely where you should go for Halloweeny goods.
- Address: 56 Bangbae-ro 13-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul (서울시 서초구 방배로 13길 56)
- Hours: Monday – Saturday: 9:30am ~ 8:00pm (Until 6:00pm on Saturdays)
Spooky Halloween Events In Seoul
This list will continue to be updated as more events are introduced. Not many places are decked out for Halloween in Korea so you have to go out of your way a bit to celebrate. Here are the places that are decorated in the Halloween spirit and tours that would make for some Halloween fun.
The Dark Side of Seoul
Join a walking tour down the dark back alleys of Seoul to learn a bit more about the ghosts that haunt the streets.
Joe McPherson will share the urban legends that you will tell your friends about and maybe if you’re “lucky” you’ll pick up on some strange spirit activity.
Lotte World: Dark Moon World
September 7, 2024 ~ November 17, 2024
This theme park is luckily both indoors and outdoors so if the cool weather that just blew in is a bit much for you, then maybe check this out for the indoor option. This year, the theme is ENHPYEN’s webtoon, Dark Moon. There’s a Halloween Party Parade, vampire villains, a creepy doll house, and plenty of fun performances.
*Be sure to take advantage of the discounted entrance tickets to avoid the lines and save quite a bit of money.
Everland: Blood City 8
September 6, 2024 ~ November 17, 2024
Everland, the largest theme park in Korea, hosts this amazing event each year. The park is transformed into a zombie play ground. Are you ready for the horror? It’s packed with haunted rides and attractions and lots of zombies, just to reiterate that. This is one of the most popular parks to visit for Halloween.
Note: This amusement park is outside of Seoul. If you need transportation included, get their discounted ticket with shuttle bus package to Everland.
Korean Folk Village: The Ghost World, Ghost Play
September 14, 2024 ~ November 10, 2024
A folk village might not be the first place that comes to mind when you’re considering where to go for Halloween vibes in Korea, but the Korean Folk Village puts on quite a show and there are some pretty scary creatures in Korean folklore and mythology. It makes more sense than you might realize.
12 Common Korean Superstitions
It’s always good to be aware of superstitions when you move to a country so you’re not seen as socially inept or inadvertently wish someone death… which is probably a faux pas in every place around the world. Below you can find 12 common Korean superstitions, but if you’re really looking to go down the superstition rabbit hole, check out this list of 30 Korean superstitions!
1. May the 4th Be Bad: The number four is considered bad luck so, in elevators and other relevant places where a four would commonly be seen, the number is replaced with the letter “F” rather than having the numeral scaring unsuspecting elevator users. If you’re looking to buy a house and this superstition doesn’t have you wary though, check out apartments with multiple number 4s. They are often lower in value due to less people wanting to live in them.
2. The Red Death: Never write someone’s name in red ink as this denotes that someone has died. In the past red ink was used to write a persons name on the family registry who had died, thus doing it while someone is living is to wish them ill or death.
3. Evil Spirits Be Gone!: Koreans believe that moving on certain days of the month will not only have you bringing boxes to your new pad, but also angry spirits as well. Before you contact those movers, make sure the day is an “evil spirit free” day (손없는날) on the calendar.
4. Suffocation Beware: Some people in Korea believe that a fan can kill you! This common superstition comes up almost every summer in the news and garners attention as people discuss and disagree. Some believe that leaving the fan on while inside a room with the windows closed and the door shut while you sleep will result in your death by fan (선풍기사망설). Some people say it all started when people were found dead in their rooms with nothing in the room except a running fan… obviously EMTs must have then reported that the fans were indeed the culprits behind the gruesome murders.
5. Don’t Whistle While You Walk: Some believe that whistling at night will beckon the ghosts and spirits of those passed as well as snakes… guess that means you shouldn’t start whistling your favorite tune as you take a jaunt this week.
6. Shoes Away: If you were thinking of buying someone some new kicks in the upcoming holiday season, think again. Giving someone shoes will almost definitely have them running away from you… at least that’s what this superstition says. (On a funny side note, my husband has given me shoes multiple times in our relationship a rather BIG no-no… and yet…)
7. Walking Apart: There are plenty of paths in Korea that are said to denote love and lengthy relationships should you walk down them in Korea and as such, there are just as many that will have you walking to splitsville. The path along Deoksugung Palace is said to lead couples to break up. This was once where couples walked to go to divorce court so I guess there’s something to this superstition.
8. Shake It Off: Getting children to sit still is probably one of the biggest annoyances to many parents and grandparents. Did you know that shaking your legs doesn’t only make you look nervous or jittery but also brings you bad luck in Korea? Legs symbolize wealth and prosperity so shaking them means you’re literally shaking the wealthy right away from you (다리 떨면 복 나간다).
9. The Blind Butterfly: It was once believed that touching a butterfly or moth and then touching one’s eyes would lead to blindness. How this got started, I’ll never know but you’d just be better off not touching your eyes in general after playing with insects or animals of any kind.
10. Flying Husbands: Giving your husband, spouse or boyfriend chicken wings for dinner will most cause him to “fly” away as his belly will be full of chicken wings. Goes for any winged creature really and basically means you don’t want to feed your significant other anything that can fly…
11. No Jumping Over Babies!: There are plenty of superstitions on raising kids in Korea and one of them regards jumping over them. Not sure why someone jumped over their child in the first place but, so it goes… It is said that jumping over a baby will cause him/her NOT to grow taller. I wouldn’t recommend trying it to test the theory though.
12. Stick To Me: To wrap it up, we’ll leave with a maybe more positive one. Korean yeot or hard taffy made from glutinous rice is so sticky that the superstition around this one has good luck sticking to you if you eat it. This is often given to students studying for a big test so that the correct answers will stick to them and help them during the exam.
Looking to learn more about Korean culture? Look into learning the Korean language. 90 Day Korean is an awesome course that will help you and it makes learning about superstitions sayings and everything else that you are interested in Korea that much easier.
Have fun this Halloween and be safe out there!
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